City Park Chronicles

Monday

Feb 11, 2013 at 5:00 PM

Some dogs are especially eye-catching, and Saturday I saw one that pretty much took the cake: a dog who was flying a kite!

By Susan Dietrich Schneider

Young dog, new trick

My readers know by now that I am a bird lover, and a dog lover as well. Actually, I appreciate all life forms, including the creepy-crawly ones, like lizards, snakes, spiders, and bugs. It's always a pleasure to see people enjoying the wide variety of creatures at the Park, and bringing their canine companions here for a stimulating walk or run, as I do, too.

Some dogs are especially eye-catching, and Saturday I saw one that pretty much took the cake: a dog who was flying a kite! Yes, a kite-flying dog, a sleek, fawn-colored boxer that was racing across the grass holding a plastic reel of string in its mouth, the red and yellow kite spinning up into the air behind it, higher and higher.

The dog was there with her human, and as I watched I noted they were fluent in both English and sign language. I'm best speaking English, so I approached them and introduced myself in my mother tongue. The human introduced herself as Natalie and her companion as Leah.

"There's a story behind her name. Do you know much about boxers?" she asked.

"No ... not very much at all," I replied, eager to hear more.

"Well, Leah is the fourth boxer I've had. The day after my third one died, we were up in Pueblo and saw this sign that said "BOXER." I asked my husband what he thought, and he said, 'It must be a sign!'"

"Yeah, really!" I agreed.

"So we went to the address, and as soon as I saw her I noticed she had white socks on her hind feet, but the white on her front feet went all the way up to her chest. I said, 'Oh, you have leotards!' So that's what I named her: L-E-A-H – T-A-R-D."

I asked if I could take some photos and write up a story for the paper, and Leah was more than happy to oblige after Natalie had poured a substantial amount of water onto her lapping tongue from a big jug. Then Leah lay down on command, and stayed there as Natalie walked about 50 feet away. With a flick of her hand, Natalie signaled Leah to come, and at break-neck speed, she charged toward her. Then, a split second before Leah got to her, Natalie turned her back and fell to her knees on the grass in a well-choreographed dance. In the other half of that split second, Leah sprang onto Natalie's back and vaulted in a flying leap over her.

"Wow," was all I could think of to say at that point.

"Sure, take all the pictures you want," Natalie said. "I knew Leah-tard would be famous someday!"

Any comments or personal stories you'd like to share about the Park? Please email me at susan@ljtdmail.com.